- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Welcome to the community! I completely understand how hard is to not be able to do simple things without having a mental battle. It’s so, so hard and I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. When it comes to intrusive thoughts, let them flow. Nothing OCD says about you is true, so it won’t do any harm to not pay attention to them. Reacting to them makes them stay longer. If you don’t want to go on medication there are natural supplements available that you can try.
- Date posted
- 6y
You’re welcome! I hate the fight or flight stress that goes with OCD! I’ve heard that curcumin, a component of turmeric, and ashwaghanda help with OCD. Here’s a website I found helpful. https://bebrainfit.com/natural-remedies-ocd/
- Date posted
- 6y
Welcome! Slow progress is still progress! In general with ERP, it gets a little worse before it gets better. When you start effectively treating the thoughts, they basically try to fight to stay alive. The mental battle is real! But for awhile, it probably just has to feel that way. But you’ll gain more practice and it will become much more automatic as time goes on. Meds can help for some. I recommend doing your research first and not staying on them more than a year. Most studies done on them are relatively short term, so we know the short term effects but not the long (and long term is considered over a year.) You said you’re doing CBT, are you also doing mindfulness training? It’s great for helping to let those thoughts flow without constantly feeling the need to battle them.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks for your responses guys!! Your advice is invaluable, it finally feels good to speak to other people with this stupid overthinking nightmare, because as I said previously, some people who try and understand it simply can’t ? Ill definitely do more research around supplements or meds so thank you for your advice! Meditation or mindfulness also seems great practice ?
- Date posted
- 6y
You’re welcome. I’m glad to have been able to help. I agree it’s hard to make people who don’t have OCD truly understand what we go through every day.
- Date posted
- 6y
Hi @mitchw97. I’m proud of you for getting the help you need and continuing to do the hard work of breaking through ocd. Here’s my perspective on medication: I have been on SSRI medication for thirteen years and it has saved my life. I also deal with severe depression, but the medication has enabled me to live a relatively normal life. Yes, I’ve gained about 15 pounds that won’t come off no matter what I do, but at least I’m alive; without the medication I become suicidal. Over the past 13 years I have tried to come off of medication and use supplements instead and these times have turned into nightmares where I become suicidal again. My body needs medication. But your body is yours, and your story is different. I would say that when you are considering medication, the question to ask yourself is: am I functional? Are you are able to go to work/school, be with friends, pay your rent, take showers and eat? If you can’t do those things, I suggest seeking guidance from your therapist and physician and get their recommendations on whether they think you should start medication. TL;DR: meds saved my life and I will never be able to get off them and that’s fine with me; if you’re functional in daily life, talk to your dr about the possibility of starting meds.
- Date posted
- 6y
@catlady thanks for your reply! I am trying to let them flow, I’ve had many chats with my therapist about the whole fight or flight malarkey too, it’s just a bit difficult going from 100mph of gottadothisgottadothisgottadothis to meh ? Do you have any recommendations for natural supplements? I haven’t the foggiest idea where to start!
- Date posted
- 6y
@puppychino thank you!! i’m glad they’ve worked for you, I have heard numerous stories about their effectiveness and I have had my doubts. I think I am rather quite functional, I hit a wall a few months ago where I think medication could have been the only thing that could have helped, but I started CBT and that has been really helpful, but as I said in the OP, I feel I’ve hit a bit of a wall. I’m referring to another therapist and I am going to start looking into other supplements, as a kind of progression to before I start thinking about medications ? Thank you for your help, I hope your own journey is full of joy and good fortune.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
Hi. I found this website through listening to a podcast. I am undiagnosed OCD, but I am absolutely sure I've got it, and I'm really struggling. I feel lonely and my head will literally not give me a moment's peace. It all started a year ago. I have always been the anxious type, but a really intrusive/alarming thought randomly entered my head - it wasn't intrusive/alarming in the sense of distressing explicit content (as I know this is common with OCD), it was intrusive & alarming in regards to the future and a worse case scenario happening. I spiralled from here and over a year later I'm really struggling in this same spiral. I have to check things constantly. If I can't check, I become quickly distressed. But, even if I can check, sometimes it's not enough and I still doubt and become distressed. I am CONSTANTLY scanning for danger - no matter how small, or insignificant. I am CONSTANTLY pre-occupied by worse case scenario and I try and plan repeatedly in my head 'just in case'. I replay the past in my head on a constant loop trying to desperately remember if I did/didn't do something. I then 'test' myself by trying to remember things that I can check in the here and now - if I get it wrong, I become pre-occupied and distressed. I'm very vigilant about 'covering any tracks' where I could have 'slipped up', e.g. did I send that text to the right person? Or fully believing that my phone has malfunctioned and has sent stuff to people who I wouldn't want to see it. I then check and recheck. I have urges to straighten things, touch things etc. when my brain tells me to so that I stay 'safe'. Every OCD incident, pattern etc. I have a real need to share and seek reassurance from friends and family, but not only do I realise that ultimately this reinforces my OCD, friends and family are fed up and have a 'what now?' attitude. It's so lonely and I want to beat OCD once and for all. It's an absolutely miserable way to live.
- Date posted
- 22w
Hello, I’m in undergrad and recently was diagnosed with OCD. Its a very new diagnosis and it’s both been stressful and relieving to receive it. Looking back at my past I’ve been able to explain a lot of behavioral issues that I thought were simply attributed to me being “crazy”. It’s comforting to know it’s something that others struggle with and that there are set coping mechanisms and treatments for it. There are a number of thing of which I obsessively think about, and it’s been getting really hard to deal with all of them. The most troubling are my thoughts toward suicide. I can’t stop thinking about it. There’s not really any intent, it’s just like my brain has tuned into a frequency that plays in the background at all times. Usually though this leads to more dangerous behaviors, and so I always try to do any preventative work to keep myself safe. As for the asking for advice portion of this post, what do you all do to combat unending loops of thought? Because I’m so new to my diagnosis, my therapist and I haven’t found good strategies for me yet, outside of just labeling those thoughts as OCD in an attempt to delegitimize them.
- Date posted
- 16w
I’m new to treatment and only realized I have OCD a few months ago. I went through a tough and abusive marriage and ended up getting divorced. I had my first panic attack several years ago and ended up needing to go on Lexapro. This helped me significantly and allowed me to leave my partner. Several years later and I decided to stop Lexapro because I thought I was good to go. I’m in a very healthy relationship, have a great job, friends/family, go to the gym and have a wonderful life. It’s been about a year off the meds and I’ve had some panic, but I’ve been able to manage it. For some reason, the last three weeks has been really difficult for me. I have different spirals and different thought processes: what if I’m schizophrenic? What if I have a deeper mental disorder? What if I hurt someone? What if I need to leave my partner? What if I end up becoming so depressed that I end up hurting myself? My brain just goes from one what if to the next and once I conquer one, the next one pops up with even more intensity. I started taking NAC and inositol and I’m taking saffron during the day because I really don’t wanna go on back on medication but sometimes my thoughts scare me and I’m convinced that I’m not gonna get better and I know that’s just the OCD loop, but I’m wondering if this resonates with anyone else!
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